US Spy Balloon Crashes In Northeast Syria

A sizable surveillance aerostat owned by the US military crashed on Wednesday near the town of Rmelan in Syria's northeastern Al-Hasakah province.

Footage on social media showed the aerostat descending from the sky and, subsequently, its debris on the ground close to Rmelan, which was also near a US base. Allegedly, US fighter jets were seen flying over the vicinity during the event.

The US maintains several illegal bases in Syria, including the one in Rmelan, primarily in the northeastern provinces of Al-Hasakah and Deir Ezzor, as well as Al-Tanf in the southeast, purportedly to combat ISIS remnants. 

Several local sources said the spy balloon crashed due to a technical malfunction, while others indicate that unidentified culprits shot down the aerostat. The Pentagon has yet to comment.

The US initially introduced aerostats to its Syrian bases years ago, although they were considerably smaller than the one that crashed near Rmelan.

The significant size of this aerostat indicates it likely carried sophisticated surveillance equipment, potentially including aerial radar systems.

The day prior, the Lebanese group Hezbollah carried out multiple operations against Israel, including the downing of an Israeli surveillance balloon in the south of Lebanon and the demolition of the launching base and the control equipment utilized for its operation.

Hezbollah has been launching daily assaults on Israeli military installations since October 8, in solidarity with Gaza and in support of Palestinians. It has pledged to persist until the war on Gaza is stopped.

Hezbollah said, "After tracking the movement of the spy balloon to monitor and spy on Lebanon and after determining its control center, our fighters targeted it with missiles."